Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammation of the joints, the surrounding swelling and discomfort is painful. How the body treats this attack to the equalibrium is by attempting to repair the afflicted area, in doing so the surrounding area may have the bone and cartilage disrupted and broken down. Everyone has different results with intervals where the symptoms are less but cruelly return again later as if taunting the sufferer.A Feeling of Stiffness in the JointRheumatoid arthritis sufferers waking in the morning often feel joint stiffness for more than an hour. This is one of the first signs that arthritis may be starting. Observing the joints in question should reveal some swelling and tenderness in more than one part of the body. The discomfort may reside to acceptable levels after a while but can come back in periods of inactivity.The early rheumatoid arthritis symptoms do not necessarily have to be confined to the joints of the body. Upon closer inspection of the joint area can reveal small nodules under the skin or even an accumulation of fluids. Rheumatoid arthritis can cause a loss of appetite and body shaking chills, other than the common pain of the joint area.As time moves on the person afflicted with the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis have times of :*unusual tiredness*morning stiffness*extensive aches and pains*low staminaThese early rhumatoid arthritis symptoms need to be heeded because if treated quickly the joints permanent ruination may be lessened or at least slow it down to manageable levels. Failure to action these arthritis symptoms early enough will condemn the person to a life of medications, monitored exercise programs, physical therapy or even surgery.Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms can greatly reduce the mobility of the person to such an extent where previously accepted lifestyles need to be readdressed. The joint mobility and resulting pain and discomfort should cause the person to follow through with treatment, thus preventing the rheumatoid arthritis from having free reign and causing much more damage than necessary. Seeking out appropriate medications, natural remedies and dietary changes can provide comfort and allow the sufferer to maintain the lifestyle at a standard that they are used to for many years to come.
Arthritis is not something that goes away on its own. You should never ignore any drastic change in your body, especially one that can potentially cripple you. Although we don't know rheumatoid arthritis causes, there are some generalizations that can be made about people suffering at certain levels of the condition. Tests can be done to determine what levels of certain chemicals you have that indicate the presence of early rheumatoid arthritis. Recent studies have indicated that treating this aggressively helps the patient overall.
What Chemicals Do They Test For?
When a person has early rheumatoid arthritis, their bodies tend to put out higher amounts of certain chemicals. These chemicals do not seem to be the cause of early rheumatoid arthritis or create any pain. These chemicals include the protein Interluekin 15 (IL 15), Inerluekin 6, B cells (a kind of white blood cell), blood fats (LDL is especially looked at) and lysozomes (a kind of enzyme).
All kinds of rheumatoid arthritis, including early rheumatoid arthritis, is thought to be an autoimmune disease, which is probably why the body puts out these chemicals because it considers itself under attack. Early rheumatoid arthritis usually happens in women more than men.
Kinds Of Aggressive Treatments
A Dutch study called PROMPT treated 110 patients with early rheumatoid arthritis with a strong drug called methotrexate (a cancer drug) for one year. X rays showed that they had less damage to their joints than people with early rheumatoid arthritis who took a placebo. They also still had less damage after 30 months. However, methotrexate has very harsh side effects, which is the reason why the treatment is described as "aggressive".
Another study, called BeST (misspelled on purpose), has since backed up PROMPT. It tracked patients with early rheumatoid arthritis for two years who were taking a combination of methotrexate and Remicade (an anti-inflammatory). They were 55% less hampered by their early rheumatoid arthritis than those who took a placebo.
However, many patients with early rheumatoid arthritis are not eager to through the pain and expense of aggressive early treatment (and rightly so). The bottom line seems to be that each early rheumatoid arthritis case needs their treatment tailored to them as soon as possible. But, no matter how you choose to treat it, you can't just ignore your pain, swelling and stiffness and hope it will just go away. That is merely a prescription to guarantee that it will get worse.
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